Since we have a class on "Liber 777" this month, I thought
I would resurrect an article I wrote for the old "O.T.O. Newsletter" about
eleven years ago. This first appeared in the May 1978 e.v. double
issue # 7-8. The issue is long out of print, but some considerations
are afoot to put the "Newsletter" into computer format and possibly make
it available again in photocopy. The "O.T.O. Newsletter" was the
precursor of the "Magical Link"; and it was in publication until the last
issue in
1980 e.v., # 10-11. The poor beasty died of obesity, with the
last issue going to 120 pages, including four-color cover. Much as
I liked doing it, that was a bit much for the press in the room behind
my kitchen. Hope you like it.

Notes on: "Liber 777"

Column XL on a small budget:

semi-precious stones

by Fr. AMTh

Many of us have wished to set gems into talismans and other
devices in correspondence to the Sephiroth. This is workable in most
of the correspondences listed in "777", Col. XL, but diamonds and a few
other stones are beyond the means of most of us. One can use chips,
of course; but size counts for much in workings of one kind or another.
It is better to have a stone that matches the working, is large enough
to be seen and is not a plastic or glass fake. With these ideas in
mind, the following table of semi- precious gems and minerals is offered.
Notes follow to clarify the selections and to provide instruction on the
principle of magical signatures.

Notes:
#1. Milky Quartz is featureless white, a match to the white Brilliance
of Keter. Quartz with gold inclusions is white flecked Gold, also
a color symbol of Keter.
#2. Mother of Pearl is the color match of Chokmah.
#3. An Apache Tear is usually a small round stone of black hue.
It transmits a little light and gives a feeling of endless depth.
This stone was sacred to South-Western American Indians. The reference
to Binah is by color and mystical properties.
#4. Blue Azurite matches the blue of Chesed. This is a
copper ore, and can be used to link Netzach with Chesed --- definitely
a right-pillar stone for the Tree of Life.
#5. Desert Rose is a flower-like crystal of granular Hematite.
it is dull light russet in color and an iron ore. Thus, rose = 5;
reddish = color of Geburah, iron = metal of Geburah.
#6. Citrine is a yellow golden gem like a drop of honey, thus
Tipheret, gold and Sun.. In darker hues this is sometimes called
honey topaz, and a large stone of this type was used by Crowley for scrying
in his "Liber 418" working. It is inexpensive, not like the rare
true topaz. I picked up a 90 karat cut stone for about $100 some
years ago. Little ones go for under $10 --- as do most entries
in this list.
#7. Green Malachite is green in color and a Copper ore, thus
Netzach.
#8. Cinnabar is reddish orange in color and an ore of Mercury,
thus Hod.
#9. A Moon Stone is at first glance more for #13 and Gimmel than
for #9 and Yesod. This follows from the transcendent appearance of
this gem. One must not fall into the trap of thinking that one affinity
determines place forever. The Moon and Yesod match a stone with the
appearance of the Full phase of the Moon. While lesser gems might
match the lower place of Yesod, there are certain sexual mysteries of O.T.O.
which elevate this place. The Moon Stone in its white form is like
a drop of semen leavened with the White Eagle. Only through subsequent
skilled working can the gem be raised to #13. This is an affinity
quite close to that of Binah and Malkut as Mother and fallen Bride in ancient
Qabalah. In a real way, these "budget" versions of Column XL can
be thought of as Green Lion to the Precious Stones' Red Lion. Those
who aim directly for
the top without treading the way up often squander magical force.
#10. Lava, basalt and granite are the bones of the Earth. These
stones are the prima matter of the physical world.
#11. Native Sulfur, not alchemical Sulfur, has an affinity to air and
therefore Aleph. Native Sulfur in crystalline form is yellow (Aleph)
and sublimates (turns into gas from the solid state).
#12. Feather Agate (also called Tree Agate), contains brilliant plumes
of color in a clear and colorless stone. These are like the forces
manipulated within the Magician by the art hidden within the letter Bet.
#13. Satin Spar is a stone that looks like a fall of crystalline rain.
It is a perfect depiction of the descending influence of the Moon.
#14. Emerald Beryl can be bought from a lapidary as an opaque crystal
for $8 to $20. It is the green gem of Venus.
#15. Red serpentine has a muted red, for Hay, and is chemically like
asbestos to protect against fire.
#16. Brown Obsidian is often ribboned in black. If all the surface
of the earth were melted, this stuff would result. Vau is union.
#17. Alexandrite (artificial variation of carborundum, not natural
Alexandrite; the natural stone is fully on a par with the finest diamonds
in cost): For Zain, Gemini, this artificial stone is an easy correspondence.
The natural stone has some optical properties not to be found in the artificial,
but both natural and artificial produce a reddish color in artificial light
and a green one in daylight. This dual coloring is the Gemini matching.
The property is more extreme in the artificial stone. In addition,
the idea of art bettering nature has some affinity to the path of Zain
on the Tree of Life.
#18. Chet is color matched to Amber in the symbolic King Scale.
This substance is also used in the regular table XL. Amber may contain
and preserve objects within itself --- Cancer's facility of containment.
#19. The Cat's Eye simulates the eye of the serpent, Tet, and the eye
of the Lion, the Tet Beast of Tarot.
#20. Peridot is yellowish Green; a Virgo = Yod color in the King Scale.
#21. Turquoise has the color of Jupiter, and myth grants it the status
of a fallen part of the sky. This stone is sometimes used to
protect or measure the health of a person wearing it. Turquoise of
a white-veiled type changes its color at times, like the passage of a cloud
upon the mystical sky of its wearer. A strong case of #13 could also
be made here, for Turquoise or Lapis dust was the pigment used by the Egyptians
on the Stele of Revealing for the Body of Nuit. This was once blue,
but now is green. Turquoise and Lapis Lazuli gradually change to
a variation of malachite with exposure to air. Thus mystically, Nuit
Virgin becomes Nuit Mother. There is a strong feminine side to the
God Jupiter, which is often overlooked. Jupiter is the Sire of Dionysus,
but also the birthing Mother. Athena was born from the head of Zeus.
#22. Lace Agate shows a balance of chemical forces, thus Libra and
Lamed.
#23. Moss Agate looks like an undersea view, thus Water and Mem.
#24. Aquamarine represents the mystical waters of re-birth in its color
and clarity. Scorpio and Nun also stress this.
#25. Flint is the stone of Arrows and therefore Sagittarius, Samekh.
The power of this stone to strike fire also applies to this path.
#26. Fluorescent Minervals, when exposed to the proper wavelengths
of ultra-violet light or black light, glow with "unnatural" colors.
The application to Ayin = Eye should be clear, especially when taken with
the King Scale color and the Devil Trump.
#27. Blood Stone is a dull black or green flecked with red, like blood
splattered on ebony. This stone is traditionally the talisman of
storms, earthquake, disaster, violence of all kinds and destroying sickness
--- either to cause or cure. The affinity to Peh as the letter
of the Tower Trump should be obvious.
#28. Rutilated Quartz is a stone shot through with perfect lines of
bright metallic crystal. The link to Tzaddi can be made in many ways,
but the clearest in my view is to Tzaddikim, the Perfect Watchers or Secret
Chiefs.
#29. Fossils show the course of evolution and therefore match the Moon
Trump and the path of Qof. In selecting a fossil, choose one that
represents a known evolutional line to the present living species.
If from a vertebrate, part of the back of the skull. Fossil bones
and remains from extinct Genera, like Saurians, are more correct to represent
the Qlipot. In that line, I have a nice Stegasaurous bone that I
libate with beer or wine at intervals. It keeps the beasty happy,
and few lesser critters
care to bother the rest of such a ghost.
#30. Native Gold is the metal of the Sun.
#31. Fire Opal gleams with the root of mineral fire.
#32. Granite and Basalt apply here as they do for #10

In obtaining stones and minerals, never go to a jeweler.
For that matter, don't patronize a jeweler's stock anymore than you can
avoid. The mark-up above a Lapidary's retail price commonly exceeds
TEN TIMES! In addition, a jeweler's stone has been subjected to more
haggling by far than a lapidary's. There is less accumulated trash on a
virgin, unset stone. Setting should be done either at the direction
of a practitioner of Magick or by the Magician. While we are on the subject,
there are some things to know about rare metals. Never buy any substance
described simply as "gold"; under the trade laws, this is not true gold
but an imitation yellow metal. Require "Gold Metal" and get the alloy
measure: 24K is nearly pure. 14K is a bit over half gold, but
will work better in almost all uses. Less than 10K is a bit unwise.
Also, German Silver hasn't a trace of true Silver, and Sterling Silver
is an alloy of Silver and other metals. Most finished pieces of true
silver are plated with a silver-like metal that resists sulfur in the air
and from human skin. This may or may not be desirable. Test
the coating of a reputed silver object by rubbing with egg yoke --- tarnish
is the proper result. Gold can often be tested with lemon juice and
salt; most
of the imitations will either brighten quickly and tarnish after or
show some sort of reaction. True Gold cannot be harmed by any chemical
product commonly found in the home. Obtain pure metals and metal
chains from Gold and Silver Dealers --- they are used to "small" amount
sales. Lapidaries also can supply these metals in smaller amounts
and at a slightly higher price, with materials for setting and casting
sets. Jewelers will charge $20 to $30 for a length of 10K chain that
would cost $2 to $6 in 14K from a Gold Dealer. If hard up for gold,
go to a liquor store and buy Goldwasser. Filter out the flakes of
24K gold leaf and drink the rest. Alternatively, drink the whole
thing; finely divided gold is a mild hallucinogenic drug.